Ground clearance

[Paulpen]

Hi chaps - more of a lurcker here :(

After having a few days out in the 300 Tdi a few things have popped up as regular problems the I need to rectify so was wondering what route to go down !

Firstly my towbar seems to dig in almost everywhere but removing the towball will make no difference and if I removed the pate that the ball attaches to the framework that comes out under the fuel tank will still dig in. Are there towbars that are made for offroaders or is the some kind of secert fix ? I would remove the whole lot but the vehicle is used for towing alot aswell so its not very pratical :(

Second issue is that my big tyres seem to love rubbing the rear of both the front and back arches. Im nut really sure what I should do to the front ones as ive already cut the sill stimes back alot. I also "camel cut" the rears but they still seem to catch when the suspension starts to travel alot.
Im guessing that I either need to get a suspension lift on the go or cut the arches alot and add the wide plastic cover things ?

Any advice wopuld be warmly welcomed :)


Paul

[crazymac]

To the 1st one, yes you can buy a detachable tow bar. Southdown and Guardian both do a tank guard that has the option of a drop plate, I have a Guardian one and I regularly tow to the limit on my Discovery with no problems.

The second one has lots of variables. What size tyres are you running? The largest that you can run with no mods is 235.85R16 as long as your suspension is top notch, if it is worn then 235.70R16's are the largest.

Realistically if you are running 235.85's then you will benefit from a 2 inch lift and a camel cut, the only thing you need to do at the front is the steering stops.

If you are running larger than that then you are really into big changes like steering geometry, wide angle props and major bodywork changes. Not worth it in my opinion

[Disco Matt]

IIRC 245/75 R16 is the largest you can go on a standard Disco (assuming you have recent springs). I'm after a set of Kumho KL71s in that size at some point which should give a useful lift without wrecking the handling or needing the speedo to be adjusted.

[Saffy]

there is a sticky http://www.mud-club.com/forum/index.php/topic,31750.0.html

[crazymac]

IIRC 245/75 R16 is the largest you can go on a standard Disco (assuming you have recent springs). I'm after a set of Kumho KL71s in that size at some point which should give a useful lift without wrecking the handling or needing the speedo to be adjusted.

That really depends on the springs as you say but also the wheel offset. I run 235.85R16 with no lift and no camel cut. Its ran for 2 years like that with no problems because I'm using Discovery steel wheels so the offset allows this no problem, even on extreme levels of articulation. Now I am having occasional contact with the rear wing as the springs are softening up a bit.

[Range Rover Blues]

Some people reckon that leaving the towbar on saves you damaging something else, like the tank.  Swaping it for a remoavable one is a goodidea, if you fit a tank guard and reinforced bumper than all the better, but my Southdown weighs 36KG which pull sthe back end down a tad.

You could try stiffer standard sprinsg or fit a lift.  One other route is to Tub the arches a little, the front ones can be done by looseing the braces on the bottom edge of the wing and pulling them out, the back is much harder on the Disco because the panels are bonded to the shell but you can roll the lip further underneath if it's what is catching or you could fit larger arches and cut the metal back.

As said the best choice depends on what tyres you are using.

[lurch_917]

 1)   saw this on a freinds truck , he fitted a bit of checker plate to the bottom of the towbar brackets running up as far as he could this acts like a slidder stopping him digging his towbar in net and cheep .

2 ) i run 235/85 on mine with a 2 inch lift with just a bit of trimming and wonderd why they still rubbed then my mate gave me a set of +2 bumpstops and that cured the problem

[Paulpen]

Im running 235 85 16 114K on Greenway steels I believe

How would running laif affect the ability to tow things at all ?

[crazymac]

Im running 235 85 16 114K on Greenway steels I believe

How would running laif affect the ability to tow things at all ?

What????

I would guess that your suspension is tired!

[Range Rover Blues]

I have plus 2" on Bluew with 235/85 BFG M/T and I can still tow if I'm sensible. You need a seriously long drop plate, especially for the car trailer as it's got a very low nose.  I tow my Sankey with it just fine but for big stuff I prefer the LSE because it's auto.

[Paulpen]

Im running 235 85 16 114K on Greenway steels I believe

How would running laif affect the ability to tow things at all ?

What????

I would guess that your suspension is tired!

Lift lol


Just spotted these on the bay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110585438132&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

but they seem cheap compared to the "named" ones....